Bringing Back
Our Backcountry

The first phase of the Franklin Trail, opening officially on November 1st (details below), will once again connect our community to its beloved backcountry wilderness areas.

We Still Need Your Help!

Thanks to our generous contributors we met and exceeded our original goal of $450,000 to build phase one of the Franklin Trail. Now that we’ve completed the first phase of the trail we need to continue to raise funds for phase two. All donations received from here out will be matched by an anonymous donor up to $25,000. Please help by donating today.

Friends of Franklin Trail

Local artist Ben Anderson has designed a commemorative t-shirt and sticker for the
Foot-by-Foot community challenge campaign.
Shirts are $20 – sizes range from SM-XXL.
Stickers are available on request. To get
yours, email us at: tshirts@franklintrail.org

The First Phase of the Franklin Trail is OPEN

View from the one mile mark on Franklin Trail

Come and join all the people who are now enjoying the first 2 ¼ miles of the newly re-opened historic Franklin trail. Experience the majestic views of the valley, salt marsh, ocean and Channel Islands as you climb into the mountains behind Carpinteria along the completed first phase of the trail.Although this first phase took 3 years for us to complete, through the combined efforts of the Friends of Franklin Trail, Santa Barbara County, City of Carpinteria, Carpinteria Unified School District, Santa Barbara Trails Council, the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and hundreds of people from the community, it is now open.The 3 ½ mile second phase, that will take the trail up the mountain to the Los Padres National Forest, we hope to open with far less effort or expense within one more year.The Santa Barbara County Trails Council will take the lead on the third and final phase, comprising the last 3 ½ mile section on the actual tread of the old historic trail to the top of the mountains in the Los Padres National Forest. As you might imagine, this section of the trail has become very overgrown and badly eroded over the past 100 years. The Trails Council is raising the funds needed for surveying, permitting and reconstruction of this third phase. Please see their website for articles and donor information at www.sbtrails.org

Friends of the Franklin Trail continues to accept tax deductible contributions which will support future trail build costs for Phase 2 and ongoing maintenance.Donate online now >>

Friends of Franklin Trail

With Santa Barbara County Parks as the lead agency, the Friends of Franklin Trail has set a goal of raising the necessary funds from private and public sources to cover the cost of the project to reopen the Franklin Trail, currently estimated at $450,000, from the High School to the Los Padres National Forest. The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County has offered, in its 501c3 capacity as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, to manage the Franklin Trail Fund.

Special Thanks

Friends of Franklin Trail would like to thank Dowitcher Designs for generously contributing website development.